School of Medicine Names Distinguished Preceptors in Macon, Savannah and Columbus

School of Medicine Names Distinguished Preceptors in Macon, Savannah and Columbus

May 26, 2017

MACON/SAVANNAH/COLUMBUS – Mercer University School of Medicine (MUSM) recently named its 2017 Distinguished Preceptors for the Macon, Savannah and Columbus campuses.

Nine physicians were honored for their contributions to medical education at MUSM and as dedicated, community-responsive physicians. They include Dr. Betsy S. Horton, Dr. John Wesley King Jr. and Dr. D. Ben Warren for the Macon campus, Dr. Christina B. McCain, Dr. Robert C. Pyle and Dr. Jeffrey C. Stone for the Savannah campus and Dr. Michael Sein, Dr. Daniel H. Singleton and Dr. Dan Zant for the Columbus campus.

“Our preceptors are very important and valued members of our faculty who provide hundreds of hours of one-on-one education and mentoring at primary care practices across the state,” said Dr. Randolph Devereaux, assistant professor and assistant director of Mercer’s Community Preceptor Network (CPN).

Dr. Horton practices internal medicine at Alpha Internal Medicine in Fayetteville. A 1994 graduate of MUSM, she was nominated by student Gayle-Anne Wright.

“As a preceptor, Dr. Horton invests extra time at lunch and in the evenings in the students who rotate with her, in addition to teaching and talking to students while she sees patients,” said Wright.

Dr. King practices internal medicine in Baldwin County. He was nominated by student Adam Wilson.

“Dr. King is nothing short of a strong teaching physician,” said Wilson. “He has taken MUSM students under his wing long before I started working with him.”

Dr. Warren is an obstetrician/gynecologist at Harbin Clinic Women’s Health in Cartersville. A 1988 graduate of MUSM, he was nominated by student Jennifer Anhut.

“As a fourth-year student, I had the unique opportunity to accompany Dr. Warren and several other Cartersville physicians and healthcare providers on a medical mission trip to Guatemala in February,” said Anhut. “While there, we performed 16 surgical cases in four days and experienced the kindness and extreme gratitude of our Guatemalan hosts. I could not have asked for a better surgical learning experience than what Dr. Warren granted me.”

Dr. McCain is a general surgeon at Southeast Georgia Surgery in Hinesville. A 2005 graduate of MUSM, she was nominated by student Andres Montes.

“You sometimes forget the community around you in a Level 1 center; nonetheless, when you are with Dr. McCain, you realize the major community role a rural physician plays,” said Montes.

Dr. Pyle practices family medicine at Harbin Clinic Cedartown in Polk County. A 1995 graduate of MUSM, he was nominated by student Christopher S. Dammeyer.

“Dr. Pyle is always looking for additional ways to reach out and touch the lives of those around him, whether in the office, at home or in the community,” said Dammeyer. “I would like to thank him for serving as a role model over the last four years as I strive to one day become a physician of his caliber and morals.”

Dr. Stone practices family medicine at Acworth Family Medicine in Cobb County. He was nominated by student Laurel Duvall Cantrell.

“Dr. Stone has taught me for the past two years what it means to be a great physician,” said Cantrell. “He spends ample time with every patient and never misses a thing with his physical exam. He has taught me about what it means to be thorough, cost effective and compassionate with patients.”

Dr. Sein practices family medicine at Albany Area Primary Care and Dawson Medical Center in Terrell County. He was nominated by student Anna F. Spelts.

“Dr. Sein embodies every bit of what it means to be a community-responsive physician by holding several positions in the Albany area to better serve the needs of his patients,” said Spelts.

Dr. Singleton practices family medicine at Marion Family Medicine in Buena Vista. A 2010 graduate of MUSM, he was nominated by student Jeff Nasworthy.

“Rotating in Dr. Singleton’s office was truly an eye-opening experience as I witnessed his dedication to his community, his compassion for those who live there and his superior diagnostic skills as he worked so far from the tertiary care centers we are used to training in,” said Nasworthy.

Dr. Zant practices family medicine at Madison Family Medicine in Morgan County. A 1999 graduate of MUSM, he was nominated by student Danny Bui.

“Every once in a while, you come across someone like Dr. Zant who ascends into a special category reserved for the truly good person – the one who not only listens, but remembers; the one who helps others, not to feel better about themselves, but because it is the right thing to do; and the one who treats others how they wish to be treated,” said Bui.

Each year, Distinguished Preceptors are selected from more than 300 MUSM volunteer primary care physician faculty members around the state of Georgia, each practicing in a rural or medically underserved area. Nominations are solicited from third- and fourth-year medical students from the three campuses.

Those nominated for the Distinguished Preceptor Award must exemplify the letter and the spirit of what it means to be a community-responsive physician, be recognized as a strong teaching physician and role model, and exhibit leadership in their communities.

About the MUSM Community Preceptor Network

A recent study indicates that Mercer University School of Medicine is one of the most successful schools in the nation at producing physicians who practice in rural areas, shortage areas and low-income areas. Approximately 65 percent of Mercer’s medical school graduates return to Georgia to practice. To support the educational endeavors of the school, Mercer’s Community Preceptor Network (CPN) currently serves 110 counties in Georgia, affording students rich opportunities to develop skills related to clinical practice and community-responsiveness in rural and underserved areas and populations. Currently, CPN has more than 300 community-based, clinical faculty members in internal medicine, general surgery, family practice, obstetrics/gynecology and pediatrics. Mercer preceptors dedicate their time and energy to the development of the University’s medical students, each providing more than 400 hours of focused medical and community-based training to each student throughout the course of the student’s medical education. During the year, somewhere in the state of Georgia, a Mercer medical student is furthering his or her education with the assistance of a physician in the Community Preceptor Network. For more information, visit medicine.mercer.edu/community-macon/cpn.

About the Mercer University School of Medicine (Macon, Savannah and Columbus)

Mercer University’s School of Medicine was established in 1982 to educate physicians and health professionals to meet the primary care and health care needs of rural and medically underserved areas of Georgia. Today, more than 60 percent of graduates currently practice in the state of Georgia, and of those, more than 80 percent are practicing in rural or medically underserved areas of Georgia. Mercer medical students benefit from a problem-based medical education program that provides early patient care experiences. Such an academic environment fosters the early development of clinical problem-solving and instills in each student an awareness of the place of the basic medical sciences in medical practice. The School opened a full four-year campus in Savannah in 2008 at Memorial University Medical Center. In 2012, the School began offering clinical education for third- and fourth-year medical students in Columbus. Following their second year, students participate in core clinical clerkships at the School’s primary teaching hospitals: Medical Center, Navicent Health in Macon; Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah; and The Medical Center and St. Francis Hospital in Columbus. The School also offers master’s degrees in family therapy, preclinical sciences and biomedical sciences.